Truth is Faith
by MissAvira
Summary: Aqua's just a normal girl always balancing friends and school. Everything's going perfect until many mysterious events flip her world upside down. She begins to feel like she doesn't even know herself at all. She can't be what they say she is, could she?
1. The Date

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts. They belong to Square-Enix and Tetsuya Nomura.

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**Chapter 1: The Date**

Haven's Place was packed with hungry customers. It was the most popular fine dining restaurant on the entire island. Critics gave it an A plus on environment and food, but if they could grade higher than that, they would do it in a heartbeat. And the prices weren't too ridiculous either. There just wasn't anything bad to say about the restaurant. Tonight every table was filled with people and near the left wall, at a table set for two, a college girl with aqua colored hair could be seen sitting alone. She nervously looked around at the other diners, happily chatting and eating. Then she looked back at the empty chair across from her. She definitely looked out of place. _Why did I agree to come on this stupid thing?_ She asked herself. Just then the bell above the door chimed as someone stepped through into the restaurant. It was a young man. He looked a little older than the girl. He was freakishly tall and skinny. It didn't help that he wore tight fitting clothes either. His hair was strange: long, spiky, and flaming red. As if his appearance wasn't striking enough, his piercing green eyes added a creepy, almost devious, aura to him. And his attitude didn't seem to be any better than his physical appearance. He shouted at someone outside as he held the door open. He was so loud the girl could hear him all the way from her lonely table.

"I don't CARE what the rules are! I'm parking there!" No one else seemed to notice his outburst though. He walked up to the hostess near the front door and started asking her something. She peered over at the blue haired girl and then grabbed some menus. _Oh god no. Please, no!_ The single girl thought. Despite her wishes, though, the two walked toward her table.

"It seems your other guest has arrived. May I start you both off with some drinks?" The waitress asked, placing the menus down: one in front of the girl and the other in front of the opposite chair that had now been taken by this crazy guy.

"Just some water, please." The girl said in a mellow voice.

"And I'll have some Coke." The man said rather demanding. When the waitress left, he looked right into the cobalt eyes of the girl hating her life right now. "So…" he smirked. "You must be Aqua."

The girl tried to be as polite as possible. Maybe he wouldn't seem too bad after she got to know him some. But after that comment, with that playboy tone…she doubted it. She nodded anyway, deciding just to go with it. "And you're Axel?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well it's nice to meet you. Thanks for coming. I-I don't usually do the whole 'blind-date' thing, but Yuffie insisted…" she trailed off.

He chuckled. "Yeah, Yuffie does that, huh? I never seem to stay with one girl for too long." _Gee, nice to know,_ Aqua thought. "And Yuffie being my friend and all, she's always trying to find me "the one" (he made quotation marks with his hands), you know?" He rolled his eyes. He. rolled. his. eyes. _Oh, this guy's a keeper._ Aqua thought sarcastically.

"Um, sure." Aqua smiled for the heck of it. "I just haven't dated in a while and Yuffie got kind of tired of it." She shrugged. "She's my best friend, so I let her set me up."

The crazy redhead leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "Lucky you," he said. _Yeah, lucky me…_Aqua thought.

"Here are your drinks!" The waitress said with a tone that was a little too cheery for the awkward atmosphere. Well, awkward for Aqua at least. The waitress gently set the drinks on the table. "Ready to order?"

"Cheeseburger. Extra bacon. Ketchup. No mustard." The rude boy said.

"K!" The waitress smiled as she scribbled down the command. "And you ma'am?"

"Um…hmm," Aqua searched the menu quickly. "I'll have the Italian sandwich please."

"Great! Your food will be ready shortly!"

She walked off and Aqua slowly turned back to face Axel. The two stared at each other in silence. Aqua felt awkward and uncomfortable. Axel felt perfectly content as his took in the sight before him.

A long and painful hour later, Aqua and her "date" walked out of the restaurant's front door together. "And then you know what I said to that? 'Nuh-ah, no way, man. You are not gonna have sex on my couch.' Haha, man he was so pissed." Axel finished up his story, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. Aqua was just about ready to facepalm. "So where are you parked? Maybe you could follow me over to my place to hang out."

The girl's eyes widened, kind of saying "are you kidding me?" "Um, no thanks. It's pretty late and I…I promised to meet Yuffie to tell her how the date went." Aqua lied. Well it wasn't a complete lie. She _was_ going to call her at least and tell her what a douche this guy was. She found it hard to believe that Yuffie was even friends with him.

"Oh, w-well okay." Axel scratched the back of his head. It was the first time all night that his persona was broken. He wasn't used to being rejected. "Well I'll see you around then. I guess."

"Yeah," Aqua looked down at her feet. She felt kind of bad. "Hey," she looked back up to him. "Thanks, though, for the date. It was nice to get out."

"Ha, yeah," Axel winked. _Well he doesn't stay down for long._ "Catch ya around." Then he was off, and Aqua left too.

Walking down the sidewalk, Aqua opened her purse and searched for her phone in the dark. Celebrating a slight victory in her head, she pulled out her iPhone 4 and dialed her best friend's number immediately. "AQUA! OMG, how did it go?" Yuffie practically shouted through the speaker.

"Haha, well I'm calling you on the cold, long walk to my car alone. So how do you think it went?" Aqua stated sarcastically.

Yuffie gasped. "Oh, it was really that bad? Wow, I'm sorry, Aqua." She said sounding truly sincere.

"Aw, don't worry, Yuffie. But seriously…how are you guys friends? He was…gah, I don't even know! I mean, Yuffie, the guy put his fork on the edge of his plate and used it as a catapult to launch fries into his mouth!"

Yuffie giggled. "Well, I admit that is pretty bad."

"Yeah, I don't know what you were thinking with him. But it's okay, you know how I am. Boys and I just do _not_ mix."

"You got that right. Haha, remember that time you went on a date with Cloud and you guys had an argument over who was taller?" Yuffie started cracking up at the memory.

"Hey, I can't date a guy who's shorter than me!" Aqua stated in defense.

"Aqua," Yuffie said in a whiny voice. "Cloud was a perfectly good guy. I'm sorry, that was a stupid reason to break up with him. Plus he so is taller than you, or at least the same height."

"No way, it's just his hair. It makes him look taller." Aqua pouted.

"Sure, sure. Well, anyway, sorry about you blind date. Shop with me tomorrow to make up for it?"

"That'd be great! I totally need–" Aqua's sentence was cut short by a loud screeching noise. She turned around to find the source and saw a truck drifting around the corner. Aqua stood still on the sidewalk watching as the truck sped down the street. It was all over the place. Running over the curb and then into the other lane. The truck turned slightly and its headlights blinded Aqua. _Oh God!_ Was all she was able to think before her world went black.

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**A/N:** Really short chapter...blah D: But I hope it's sufficient enough for an introduction.

I've had this for a while, but I wanted to plan out the rest first to know where it was going. This is my first major story so bare with me please. :)

Oh, and let me know what you think! Critiques are always welcome too!

Thanks for reading!


	2. First Day Back

**A/N: **I decided to change the story's category from 'adventure' to 'mystery.' I think it will fit with the story better.**  
**

Thanks to fujingodofwind for reviewing!

Onto the chapter...

**Disclaimer: **The disclaimer stands, I own nothing. Except the story of course. :)**  
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**Chapter 2: First Day Back**

An exhausted blue-haired girl stretched as she opened her eyes slowly. She blinked multiple times to adjust her eyes to the bright light. When she could finally see, a strange sight lay before her. She was lying in a twin bed in a room with off-white colored walls. The source of the light came from the window on the left whose blinds were open. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was high. There was a door to the right of the bed which probably led to a hallway and there were a few chairs placed around the room. A skinny table was placed at the foot of the bed. It was filled with several cards and one big vase of flowers, including her favorite, daisies, and some Ajugas, which represented an inside joke between her and Yuffie. Three "Get Well" balloons were tied together on the left footboard post. She was in a hospital.

Confused as to why she was there, Aqua tried to sit up, but fell back down immediately because of a sharp pain. The pain was present everywhere, but it was the most intense in her head. She raised her hand to her head. _What happened?_ She thought.

Only a few minutes later, the door opened tentatively and in walked Aqua's best friend, Yuffie. She was on the shorter side, but she walked with pride in her step. She had short black hair and light brown eyes which were easy to read. And right now, Aqua could tell she was worried. Yuffie turned to face the bed and immediately all the worry left her eyes and was replaced by complete happiness.

"Aqua! You're finally up!" She said excitedly while rushing over and taking a seat in the chair right next to the bed. "Gosh, I was so worried. How are you feeling?"

Aqua took a few seconds to reply. "I'm tired and I hurt…everywhere, especially my head. Yuffie, what happened?"

Sorrow clouded Yuffie's eyes as tears threatened to escape and fall down her face. Slowly she said, "Aqua, I am _so_ sorry. I-I-" she sighed. And then her words rushed out along with the tears she couldn't hold back any longer. "You got hit by a car. A truck actually. You were talking and then stopped and didn't finish. I started calling your n-name because I didn't know if the call j-just got dropped. But then I heard some s-screeching and a loud c-crash and, and then it was j-just s-static. I was so freaked out, so I went to go l-look for you. I f-found you lying o-on the ground and the c-crushed truck was off a little w-ways. I called 911. I was s-so s-shaken…I don't e-even think t-they c-could understand m-me then, but t-they came and b-brought you h-here." She stopped to compose herself. She knew she was probably difficult to understand with all the stuttering she was doing. So she took multiple deep breaths and wiped at her tears.

Aqua was shocked. She tried to recall that night, but her head hurt too much. She opened her mouth to say something, but Yuffie had calmed down a little and started talking again first. "The cops said they think the person driving was d-drunk. But the weird t-thing was that they couldn't find him. He wasn't in the vehicle, and they searched the whole area and couldn't find him. You'd think a drunken guy wouldn't be too h-hard to find. But no, he's still out there. The _freak_ that hurt my best friend…Oh, it's all my fault that this happened, making you go on that date. If I hadn't, you wouldn't–I'm sorry." She dropped her head to look at her shoes. She couldn't even think about looking at Aqua right now.

"Yuffie, I…I don't remember any of this, but I'm almost positive it was not your fault. Things just happen."

"I know, but…you were out four days. I was starting to think you wouldn't wake up. I fell so bad."

"Yuffie, please." Her friend looked up at her. "It's okay. The only thing that matters is that you found me and I'm better now." Aqua smiled. "And thanks for my flowers by the way."

Yuffie smiled as she chuckled. "Heh, you're welcome. How did you know it was from me?"

Aqua stared at her like she was stupid. "The Ajugas," they said in unison. Then they broke out in laughter.

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't get a boyfriend."

"Hey yourself, it's not _my_ fault Ajugas mean most lovable." Aqua defended. Yuffie had started giving Aqua Ajugas as a joke after her eighth failed date because it was therefore obvious that she was the opposite of it meaning.

The two friends laughed some more and Yuffie stood up and hugged her friend. "Hmm, well anyway, I'm glad you're going to be okay." She stood up. "I don't know what I would do without you."

–––––X––––––X––––––X–––––

Aqua stepped out of the car into the bright sunlight. It was so nice to finally be out of that hospital room. She had been stuck there for two more days after the day she had woken up. She turned and called into the open car door. "Thanks for taking me home, Yuffie."

"Anytime girl!" Yuffie winked. "Oh! And we totally need to reschedule our shopping spree. Remember, to make up for your blind date?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Just give me a call whenever you're free and feel up to it."

"Okay. Thanks, Yuffie."

"No problem! Now take it easy, see you later."

"See you."

Then Aqua closed the door and slowly walked to her apartment. She was still ridiculously tired and sore, but she managed to walk up all three flights of stairs without tumbling over. She unlocked her door and after walking through just stood there wondering what to do. She walked to the fridge, grabbed a Sprite, and headed to her small porch. Luckily there was a nice view of the ocean from her side of the apartment building. She needed to relax a little.

Not too long afterwards, just as the sun was beginning to set, Aqua could hear her phone ringing inside. So she reluctantly got up out of her chair and went to go get it. It took her a while to remember where she had put it, but thanks to her long "Must Be Dreaming" ringtone, she answered the call in time. "Hello?" She said tiredly, sitting on her bed.

"Aqua! Oh, your father and I were so worried! How are you feeling? Are you getting enough sleep? You sound tired. Take it easy for the next couple of days. Do you need to stay here for awhile? We'd take care of you, of course–"

"Mom! I'm fine, I'm fine. Thanks for thinking of me though. I guess Yuffie told you everything?"

"Well, most of it…she wouldn't tell me how your date went though." She said it like a question. A hopeful question. _Moms…_

"Well it went okay. I just don't think we're for each other though."

"Ugh! Why, Aqua? Every guy. You find something wrong with every guy! What was it this time?"

"He was rude!" Aqua practically shouted. "Besides, I'm completely happy without a guy."

"Sure, honey. Well I just want the best for you. But if you don't like him, you don't like him. I guess…" She whispered that last part, but Aqua still heard. "Anyway, I'm glad you're okay. I won't keep you, you need your rest. Call if you need anything, love you!"

"Love you too, Mom. Bye." Aqua clicked the "end" button on her cell and blew some hair out of her eyes before she fell backwards, lying on the bed with her feet hanging over. She was asleep before she knew it.

When Aqua woke up, it was still dark. _Great, sleeping for four days straight screwed up my whole sleeping schedule._ She thought. But unable to go back to sleep, she rose out of bed and went to eat something. She didn't want to blind herself, so she didn't turn on the lights and simply felt her way to the kitchen. Bad idea. She stubbed her toe on the leg of the table in the hallway, and she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. She didn't want to wake her neighbors.

Eventually she made her way to the refrigerator and pulled out a container of pasta salad. She had just fished a fork out of the drawer when the phone rang. Aqua scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion and looked at the clock on the stove. 2:37 AM. _Who would be calling at this time?_ She thought. She walked over to the phone, pasta salad still in hand, and thought about letting the answering machine get it, but she felt something tugging at her mind to answer it, so she did. "Hello…?"

Silence greeted her. "Hello?" She repeated. Still no answer. Aqua hung up and muffled a "hmm". Feeling just a tad bit weirded-out, she turned on one lamp that was next to the couch. She sat down and turned the TV on, and she started eating her snack. She settled on a fashion channel, seeing nothing better on. Aqua had never been the girly type, but she had to admit that she liked to look at least decent. The host of the show had just finished telling the "victim" that she totally needed to ditch the toe socks when a scrapping noise sounded from Aqua's window. She turned her blue-haired head towards the sound, but she couldn't see anything. Sighing, she got up to look. She placed her finished pasta container on the coffee table as she walked to the window. She cupped her eyes with her hands and leaned on the sliding door that led to the porch. One edge of her hands was on her forehead while the other was against the door, like she was making herself a pair of goggles.

The only visible light from outside was from the moon which reflected off the ocean like a mirror. But tonight the moon was nothing more than a crescent, so it was pretty dark out. Aqua searched for the source of the noise, but didn't see anything unusual. However, just as she was about to pull away, she saw it. Two menacing amber eyes peered back at her from the corner of her porch. Aqua jumped back in shock, eyes trained on the scary sight. The eyes slowly grew larger as its figure they belonged to moved closer. Closer to the light coming from the lamp inside, the figure slowly became more defined. It straightened completely to reveal a human shape, but that and its eyes were all Aqua could make out. It passed through the glass like it wasn't even there and, faster than lightning, it struck. Aqua screamed as the figure engulfed her. She thrashed trying to knock it off, but it was too strong. It surrounded her in darkness, and she slowly began to lose oxygen.

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**A/N: **:O Not another cliffhanger! I'm evil, I know. Well, still a short chapter but it's longer than the first one. Yay!

I have no idea if the flower Ajuga actually means most lovable. I found that info on some website.

Well hope you liked it! I'm going to try to keep my updates to this two week deal, but I'm not guaranteeing anything.

Til next time!


	3. The Beach

**A/N: **Alrighty, it's time for a little break from those intense chapters, don't you think? Here's a happy one. ^^**  
**

Thanks to fujingodofwind and Arashi-Storm-Guardian for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **Yep, still stands, last I checked. If I owned Kingdom Hearts, Dream Drop Distance would be available in America already. Dude, we'd be way past that...KH3 would be out!

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**Chapter 3: The Beach**

Aqua screamed, sitting bolt upright in her bed. The covers were all over the place, wrapping around her legs, torso, and neck. Aqua panted, she was sweating like hell. _It-it was just a dream!_ Aqua sighed in relief. She got up and headed to the bathroom. She took a cool shower, hoping it would calm her nerves. It did a little bit. After changing into some new clothes and grabbing her phone, she started for the door. She couldn't stay inside anymore. It was driving her insane.

She was a few feet from the door when she suddenly came to an abrupt halt. She had passed something that had caught her eye, and Aqua thought her heart almost stopped. She swiftly pivoted to the right to face the living room. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table, on the left side of the couch, was a small container that had the remains of pasta salad. Aqua's mouth stood agape as she recalled the details of last night. Those frightening eyes that glistened with hunger. The evil grin that flashed on the creature's face before he struck. The cold darkness that had surrounded her. That faint, mocking laugh before she passed out…

_But…no! It was a dream!_ She walked over and picked up the container. _Wasn't it?_

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and not realize how freaked out she was. Then she placed the container in the kitchen sink to clean later. Once again Aqua headed for the door. She stepped out of her apartment into the hallway, walked down all the stairs, and finally made her way outside. It was a beautiful day. There were no clouds in sight, and the slight breeze helped it not feel too terribly hot. She opened her arms to the sky and let the sun's warmth soak through her skin. She loved the outdoors and after the night she had had, she definitely needed this relaxation. Deciding she probably looked stupid, she dropping her arms to her side and began walking to the beach.

"_Hey! I'm headed 2 the beach 2 get some air. I miss u guys, come hang out if u want."_ She sent the text to all her friends, hoping that somebody would come.

No one was there when she arrived, so she walked to the edge of the sea-green ocean and slipped out of her shoes. She dug her toes into the sand as she took in the view before her. The sun reflected brightly off the waves and several seagulls flew about. Aqua could make out the faint shape of a sailboat far off in the distance. She closed her eyes and listened to the musical rhythm of the waves crashing against the shore. She was positive that she'd never get tired of living near the beach.

"Aqua!" Someone shouted from behind her. She opened her eyes and whipped her head around, holding her hair out of her eyes from the wind, and she saw quite a lot of her friends: Sora, Riku, Kairi, Yuffie, Tifa, Cloud, Namine, Zack, Selphie, and Tidus.

"Haha, surprise!" Selphie shouted throwing her hands in the air.

"Bet you weren't expecting all of us to come, huh?" Zack said, seeing the look on Aqua's face. He threw his arm over Aqua's shoulders in a playful manner.

"N-no, I wasn't!" Aqua said truthfully through a smile.

"We were planning on throwing you a "welcome back" party today anyway," Tifa explained. "That's why we were all free. Then we saw your text and decided 'why not now?'" She giggled.

"Thanks guys!" Aqua said. Then the group dispersed. Lots jumped in the ocean, while some sat in the sand and talked. Yuffie walked over to her best friend.

"Brought you something," she said as she tossed Aqua a bag. "Thought you'd feel left out." She winked. Yuffie loved winking.

Aqua opened the bag to find a simple black bikini lying inside. It was obviously Yuffie's though because the straps ended with little jewels that looked like ninja stars. "Thanks." Aqua looked back up at Yuffie, smiling. "It's a good thing you and I are the same size, huh?"

"Yeah. Now go put it on, I'm dying to jump in that water." Aqua rushed off to the changing rooms and quickly returned wearing the bathing suit. "Great! Let's go!" Yuffie shouted as she ran towards the sea. Aqua followed close behind. They joined the others in the water and they all began splashing each other and laughing.

Tifa playfully jumped onto her boyfriend's back. "Hey! Tifa!" Cloud laughed, regaining his balance.

"That looks fun," Kairi squeaked as she hopped on her boyfriend as well. "Come on, Sora, let's challenge them to a chicken fight!" With a determined face, Sora charged over to Cloud and Tifa. Tifa won easily. The fight barely lasted 30 seconds before she knocked not only Kairi over, but Sora as well.

She howled with laughter and when they resurfaced from the water, pointed at them and shouted, "Take that, wimps!"

Sora pouted. He hated losing. "What the hell, Kairi!"

"Hmph! Like you could do better!" She shot back.

"Challenge accepted. Zack come here."

Zack looked like he really didn't want to, but abided anyway. Sora hopped on his shoulders and they began their war with the opposers. The fight definitely lasted longer. Sora was actually stronger than he looked. He still lost though, but not without pulling Tifa in with him first.

Namine laughed. "Looks like he beat you, Kairi."

"No way, he totally just lost!"

"But he lasted longer," Yuffie stated. "That means he won."

Kairi, clearly not accepting this, crossed her arms. The group of girls burst into laughter while Kairi tried not to smile and join in.

"GUYS!" Riku shouted from the shore. He was holding a slice of pizza in his left hand. He raised it up, waving it like a flag. "Aerith finally made it…she brought food!"

Sora, Zack, and Cloud all looked at each other at the same time, and then they all burst into a run towards the beach. They even tried slowing each other down, tackling each other along the way.

"Geez guys," Riku laughed when they arrived at the picnic table. "There's enough here for everyone. You don't have to fight for it."

By the time the girls arrived, Sora had already inhaled two and a half slices of pizza.

"Ugh, I'm dating a pig!" Kairi whined.

"Hey," Sora said with a full mouth. "You love me."

"Yeah, I do." Kairi smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

The group all talked and laughed while enjoying their lunch. Aqua, who was sitting beside Yuffie and Namine, stood up and walked over to sit beside Aerith. She had yet to talk to her today. "Hey!" She said excitedly when she noticed Aqua. She leaned over and hugged her friend. "So how are you?"

"I'm pretty good," Aqua nodded. "Still sore and stuff, but I'm glad I'm finally home. I've missed you guys."

"Aw, well we've missed you too!"

"You're sweet, Aerith. I–"

"Hey!" Zack, sitting on the other side of Aerith, leaned forward to look at Aqua. "No flirting with my girlfriend now." He teased.

"Hahaha, very funny," Aerith pushed him playfully. "You're just jealous that my attention's on her and not you." She turned back to Aqua. "Sorry."

Aqua laughed. "Don't worry about it. It's funny actually."

Aerith shrugged. "If you say so."

"Who's up for a blitzball game!" Tidus shouted to get everyone's attention.

"Are you kidding?" Namine stated. "Who can play after they just ate? I'm stuffed."

"Hey, that makes it the even better time to play. You'll burn off all those calories you just took in."

Namine's eyes grew wide. She hadn't thought of it that way. "Okay, I'm in." She raised her hand to empathize her point.

"Yeah!" Tidus jumped for joy, and then he ran off to a clear section of the beach. Namine and the others that wanted to play followed him. They split into teams: Namine, Sora, Zack, and Aqua versus Tidus, Riku, Cloud, and Tifa. Then the game began.

But it was quickly over, and Namine whined in protest. "Hey! I demand a rematch and this time make our teams evenly matched."

"Oh, you mean give your team the better players to pick up your slack?" Riku teased.

Namine playfully shoved him. "No! I helped my team, thank you very much!"

"Like when you hit the ball with your face?" Sora added, laughing.

Namine blushed in embarrassment. "Oh and like you did any better, Sora. I recall you on the ground quite a few times." She crossed her arms and gave him a challenging glare.

"That's only because I was diving for the ball!"

"Well at least when I hit it, it went over the net!"

"Hey–"

"Guys, guys, chill!" Aqua ran in the middle of the small space left between them. She was pretty sure if she didn't stop them, they'd end up ripping each other's face off. Sometimes their competitive streaks could really start something ugly.

Sora glared at the blonde across from him. "She started it…"

"No I did not!" Namine shouted.

"Guys!" Aqua begged. "Come on, this is stupid. Let's just laugh about the failures you _both_ had and play a new game."

Sora and Namine stopped their staring contest and simultaneously glanced at Aqua, who had a smirk on her face. She knew that if she started hating on them, they would turn their attention to her instead of each other. "Really guys, you know I didn't mean that." Aqua laughed and skipped off towards the blitzball court they had made. Sora and Namine looked back at each other, sighed, and went to join the next game.

The next one was extremely better than the first. The teams were evenly matched this time and both Namine and Sora seemed to entirely forget their dispute a few moments ago. This was probably due to the fact that they were on opposing teams this time, and they focused solely on helping their team and trying to win over the other. The whole game was filled with laughs and everyone watching was constantly cheering.

–––––X––––––X––––––X–––––

Aqua plopped down in the sand next to Selphie and Yuffie. "Man, I'm _exhausted_!"

"Aw, you played well though," Selphie complimented. "You were practically carrying your entire team. I wish I had your athletic ability."

"Hehe, thanks! I was just born with it really." For as long as she could remember, she had always been good at sports, or any physical activity for that matter. She had quick reflexes, great speed, ridiculously high endurance, and she never seemed to be out of shape, no matter how long it had been since her last workout. It was a gift really. One time when she was younger, she was goofing off with her friends, using their socks as skates to slide along the hardwood floors. They were trying to see who could, as directly quoted, "do the bestest spinny trick!" Aqua had just landed an almost perfect, very graceful twirl, and in an attempt to be even better, her friend took off and leapt high in the air. She spun around twice before descending to the ground, but she still had momentum after she landed and slid right into the coffee table. The lamp resting on it wobbled around crazily, and Aqua began to rush forward. The lamp fell over to the side and off the table. Aqua's friend squeaked and closed her eyes. But right before it smashed into the floor, Aqua caught the lamp and set it back on the table. She remembered bragging afterwards about how she was a ninja. Aqua smiled at the thought; it was a good memory.

"Have you ever thought about doing that?" Selphie turned to Aqua, but noticed she was staring off in space. She chuckled. "Hey, did you even hear what I just said?" She waved her hand in front of Aqua's face.

Aqua blinked spastically, glanced over to Selphie, and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I guess I'm so tired that my mind kind of drifted off. Were you asking me something?"

"I was just saying that if I had your talent, I'd enter a competition or a pro team or something. And I was asking if you'd ever thought of doing something like that. I bet you could become famous." She said seriously.

Aqua giggled. "Come on, Selphie, I'm not _that_ great."

"Oh, yes you are!"

"Hmm…well, no, I've never done anything like that before."

"You should, you'd be amazing at it."

"Thanks," Aqua said, turning her attention to the sunset. The sky was a pretty pink with just a touch of orange. Some clouds had rolled in sometime during the day, and now they seemed to absorb the sunset colors and make them their own. The sun was already starting to descend behind the horizon. The whole scene looked like a perfect picture, just asking to be remembered forever. The day had flown by so fast, but it had been the most fun Aqua had had in awhile. And just like the sunset, this was a "picture" she'd never forget.

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**A/N:** Hope you liked it! I blessed you guys this time - no cliffie! Ha, we'll see how long _that_ lasts.


	4. Is Any of This For Real or Not?

**A/N: **Sorry for the long absence guys. I went to the beach, a One Direction concert (WOOH!), and I've just been busy with a whole lot of stuff. I'll try to get back on schedule, I promise.

On the plus side, this is a pretty long chapter for me. I debated whether to split it in two but I decided there wasn't a good place for that, and you guys deserve a long chapter since I was gone for so long. Well enough of my babbling, onto the chapter...

Oh and thanks to Arashi-Storm-Guardian for reviewing!**  
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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Or the chapter title - that's KH too. And the song "Must Be Dreaming" is by Frou Frou.**  
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**Chapter 4: Is Any of This For Real…or Not?**

_I must be dreaming or, we're onto something. I must be dreaming for, I don't fall in love lawlessly…_Aqua awoke the next morning to the sound of her ringing phone. With her eyes still closed, she stretched her arm to her nightstand and groggily searched around for the phone. She finally found it and answered right before the voicemail would have. "Hello?" She sighed.

"Aqua? You sound…I woke you up, didn't I?"

Though Aqua was half-asleep, she could instantly recognize who the cheery voice belonged to. It was Kairi. Of course. She had always been an early bird. The _earliest_ one Aqua had ever met.

The sleepy girl opened her eyes ruefully and took a glimpse at the clock. 8:16 AM. "Ugh." _Way__ too early!_ Aqua thought. She was used to sleeping in until _at least_ 9:30 during the weekend.

"Sorry," Kairi continued, taking the 'ugh' as a 'yes.' "I just, um, well Sora has his skateboard competition today. I mentioned it to you a while ago, but I thought you might have forgotten during the whole car incident thing. I was wondering if you still wanted to go?"

"Oh!" Aqua sat up and rubbed one of her eyes, deciding she might as well start her day. Once she was up, she was up for the rest of the day. "Yeah, I remember you talking about it. Sure I'll still go! What time does it start again?"

"Ten, but Sora said if we all got there a little earlier, he'd give us a little tour. I don't know what of; I guess the place where all the guys hang out before it's their turn. But anyway…it's a pretty well known competition and even guys from other places are coming to compete. Sora said he might be able to introduce us to a few. And _Leon_ is gonna be there, Aqua!" Kairi squealed. "Squall Leonhart! If I meet him, I might die!"

"…Leon. That's the famous skater from Radiant Garden, right?"

"Yeah! He's amazing. And hot too! Gosh, I'm drooling just talking about him!" Kairi said quickly. When Kairi got excited, she talked with such a speed that if you zoned out for only two seconds, it seemed like she'd already said a whole novel.

"Haha, yes, Kairi, he's gorgeous," Aqua said sarcastically. She personally didn't find herself attracted to him very much. "But last I checked, you already had yourself a boy." She teased.

Aqua could practically hear Kairi shrug. "That doesn't mean I still can't look at other guys. Plus he's famous aka never going to date me. Haha, like he'd screw up my relationship with Sora."

"Sure, well I'm going to go get ready. I'll meet you there. It's at the park, right?"

"Yep! See you soon!"

Aqua ended the call and hopped out of bed. She made her way to the bathroom and completed her morning routine, and then she went to the kitchen and started munching on some Special K Fruit & Yogurt cereal.

After she finally finished getting ready, she grabbed her car keys and quickly exited the building. As she made her way to her silver Acura RSX, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. When she looked around, however, she didn't see anyone stalking her or anything, just a few normal people walking down the streets. She decided not to worry about it. She was running a little late, and she needed to get to the competition. She jumped inside her car and started towards the park.

She didn't see the guy in the shadows closely watching her leave. When Aqua rounded the corner, he stepped out from the alley. He was wearing a black beanie and the most devious grin.

She was driving down the road, with only a couple more blocks until she got to the park, when a boy started walking across her path only a few yards in front of her. Aqua slammed her foot on the brake and the tires screeched in protest. The boy turned to look at the source of the noise, and even though he saw the car coming right for him, he didn't move a muscle. He merely stood there, with a look on his face that didn't resemble fear at all. He looked like he was smirking actually. The car came to an abrupt halt just inches from touching the boy. Aqua, eyes wide with terror, let out a breath she hadn't been aware of holding. She relaxed a little and looked at the boy with an expression that said "_what the hell?_" The boy wore a black beanie over his blond hair, and he had a scar along the front of his face that cut diagonally across his nose. He looked like one of those guys that thought they were cooler than everyone else. He gave Aqua no answer, or apology, just a mysterious, almost challenging glare, and then he turned and continued walking as if he hadn't almost been killed.

Aqua was in such shock that she just sat there, unmoving, until the car's horn behind her brought her back to reality. She shook her head, as if trying to literally shake the thought of the past minutes away, and lightly pressed on the gas pedal, heading towards the park once again.

"Aqua! You made it!" Kairi shouted as her friend made her way towards the group. "It was getting late. I was starting to think you weren't going to make it before we left to look around."

"Eh, yeah, well on the way here this idiot boy walked right in front of my car. It's a miracle I didn't hit him."

"Oh my gosh, well that was smart of him," she said sarcastically.

"You're telling me." Aqua rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Sora!" The girls turned at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and saw an average built guy walking towards Sora. He wore a black beanie with a Japanese symbol. _No way!_ Aqua thought. The boy stopped in front of her friend and started talking to him. Aqua couldn't hear every word, but the conversation was undeniably about skating.

"Ooo, _he's_ hot!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Kairi!" Aqua hissed.

"What?" She sounded kind of annoyed.

"That's the guy that walked in front of my car!"

"Whoa, no way!"

"Yes way. He must be a competitor here. God, I hope he doesn't see me."

"Yeah, talk about awkward."

At that moment, as if sensing he was being watched, beanie guy glanced over at the girls. When his dark blue eyes fell on Aqua, his face changed to one of definite recognition. _Oh great_, Aqua thought.

Sora noticed the boy wasn't paying attention to him anymore and turned to see what he was looking at. "Oh, those are my friends," Sora informed the boy. "Come on." And he took off towards them, with the boy following behind him. "Seifer, this is Kairi, my girlfriend. And this is Aqua." He said when he reached them. "Guys, this is Seifer. He came all the way from Twilight Town to compete."

"Hmm," the boy, Seifer, mumbled. He seemed to be only looking at Aqua, and he seemed to be studying her. "Nice to meet you." He smiled, but it looked more like a sneer. Aqua said nothing.

"So ready to look around?" Sora asked.

"You bet," Kairi exclaimed. "Let me get the others." She ran off towards some more of her friends not too far away. They all came over, and it looked like every single one of their friends had come to watch Sora compete and cheer him on. Everyone from the beach party was there along with Wakka, Olette, Pence, and Hayner. Letting Sora lead the way, they started towards the skaters "lounge room."

Along the way, Sora told about all the competitors that were going to be in the competition. But Aqua wasn't really listening. She walked a little faster to catch up to Kairi and leaned over to whisper to her. "Seifer's following us." Kairi looked behind her to confirm the statement. Sure enough, there he was, beanie guy, strolling along in the back of the group with his hands in his pockets. He was staring right at them.

"Oh, you're overreacting. How do you know he's just not heading to the lounge room to, you know, lounge before the competition starts?"

"Kairi, explain why he won't quit staring at me then." Aqua challenged.

"Well, uh, maybe he just thinks you're cute. Yeah that's gotta be it!" She made a fist in her right hand and smashed it in her open left hand, like people do when they have an epiphany.

"Yeah, that's it," Aqua joked. "It has nothing to do with the fact that he might want revenge on me for almost running him over or anything. 'Cause that would be ridiculous." She stated bluntly, looking at her friend with an "are you kidding me" expression.

"Come on, Aqua, no one's _that_ heartless." But Aqua still wasn't convinced. She looked back at the boy with frightful curiosity.

It seemed like eternity, but they eventually arrived at their destination. The "lounge" turned out to be just a trailer, but it was humongous. There were couches and chairs everywhere, a large television sat in one corner, a couple of small vending machines lined the white walls, and there was one other door besides the entrance. Aqua guessed it led to a bathroom. The entire room was packed with men. _How many people are in this competition?_ Aqua thought. There were a few girls littered around whom Aqua assumed were friends of the skaters.

"Let me introduce you to some of my friends." Sora stated. Aqua figured he must have met them last year at the same competition when it was held in Hollow Bastion. The boys were sitting on the far side of the room. They were talking and someone must have said something extremely funny because they all burst out into laughter.

Two of the boys had silver hair, one long and the other short, and had similar facial features. They must have been brothers. There was a very well built guy sitting next to them. He had short black hair and he definitely spent a lot of time in the sun because he was awfully tan. Aqua thought he must be outside a lot practicing for the competition. _I bet he's good._ There was also a guy with a blond mullet who seemed hyperactive, and next to him was an almost complete opposite character. He had dark blue hair that laid over his right eye. His other eye was closed and he was resting on his right palm. He seemed almost antisocial. The last guy was the only one Aqua recognized. He was tall and lean, but also muscular. He had long spiky brown hair and a long, deep scar running from the top of his right eye to the bottom of his left. He had on black pants held up by four belts, a white shirt, and a short-sleeved black leather jacket. How he wasn't burning up in this island's summer heat was beyond Aqua's reasoning. But it was his common appearance for skateboard competitions. This guy was unmistakably Squall Leonhart.

Kairi squealed and pulled on Aqua's arm as she whispered in her ear. "Aqua, it's Leon! _Leon!_"

"I know, I saw him," Aqua laughed.

When they arrived at the boy's group, Sora said hey and they all looked up at him. All their faces lit up as they recognized their friend. "Sora!" The mullet dude shouted.

"These are my friends," he gestured behind him. "They wanted to meet you. Guys, this is Yazoo, Loz, Rui, Demyx, Zexion, and Leon." He went down the row, pointing along the way.

"Hey," the group of skaters said in unison. There was one short moment of awkward silence before Kairi quickly stepped out from the group and ran up to Leon.

"Oh my god, it's an honor to meet you! I'm such a big fan! Hi, I'm Kairi!" She held out her hand.

Leon stared at her for a second and then chuckled, taking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Kairi." This broke the awkward tension and everybody else started talking to the skaters as well. Aqua saw Seifer quietly take a seat next to Yazoo. _He must be part of their group of friends._ Aqua thought. _Great…_She made a mental note to steer clear of him, so she went over to the hyper guy and the blue-haired guy who seemed to have fallen back asleep.

"Hey," she waved. "Demyx, right?" She took a seat across from him.

"Yeah, nice to meet you!" He exclaimed.

"Thanks, you too. I'm Aqua."

He nodded, turned over to the boy next to him, and gave him a playful shove. "Wake up, Zexy! We have fans!"

The boy opened his eyes just enough to give Demyx a deathful glare. "I'm sure she didn't even know us before now." He stated softly. It seemed like he was desperately trying to remain calm.

Aqua felt terribly annoyed. This guy's attitude probably could have driven _anybody_ up the wall. "Well, that's true, but that doesn't mean I can't get to know you. But if you want to sit here and be rude about it, I'll just go talk to some other people." She stood up then and only slightly shifted to leave when Demyx quickly shouted.

"No, please don't go! I like meeting new people. Zexion didn't mean it." Aqua turned back, looking at Demyx, and then at Zexion in question.

He glanced at Demyx who gave him a pleading look. Defeated, Zexion sighed and looked back at Aqua. Sounding sincere, he said, "I'm sorry. I was rude. Please stay."

Quickly accepting the apology, Aqua plopped back into the chair she had vacated just a few moments ago. "So…how long have you guys skated?"

Demyx's eyes lit up and he excitedly replied, "Since I was eight. It's a real passion of mine."

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty-five."

"…" Aqua looked at Zexion. She didn't know why, but this guy seemed to close all others off and she wanted to break that. She was determined to make him part of the conversation.

He rolled his eyes, but responded nevertheless. "I'm twenty-four, and I've skated since I was fifteen."

"Yeah, but even though he's skated for a shorter time, he's better than me." Demyx put in.

Zexion didn't try to contradict him, or even say anything to the effects of Demyx being good too. He simply shrugged.

Feeling bad for Demyx, Aqua spoke up. "But you placed in this competition so you have to be good too."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"Of course I am!" Aqua beamed. "I'm sure you'll blow everybody away at the competition today."

"Hehe, thanks, Aqua."

She nodded. "So…you guys met Sora last year?"

It was actually Zexion who answered. "Yeah, and he fits perfectly into our group of messed up friends."

"Hey! I heard that!" Sora walked up, holding a Coke in his hand, and took a seat next to Aqua. He chuckled and in response Zexion did too.

"Well, it's true. Look at us." He gestured to the group.

"I agree with you," Aqua stated. She looked at Sora. "But I'm pretty sure Sora wins the prize." She joked.

"Hey!" Sora whined while Aqua, Demyx, and Zexion laughed.

The friends continued to converse for a while, and Aqua, looking over at Zexion, proclaimed herself the winner. Zexion was talking and laughing just as much as everyone else, if not more. Aqua felt proud of herself, helping someone come out of their shell like that.

"And-and then…haha…his board…ha…it flew all the way across the park, and…hahaha…it hit this jock square in the head!" Demyx was rolling on the floor laughing by this point, recalling the memory. He was telling a story of one of their practices last year when Sora screwed up big time and completely wiped out. By this point of the story, Sora's face was more red than a tomato. "And-and-and…hahaha!" Demyx clutched his sides. He could barely breathe.

Seeing that he couldn't finish the story, Zexion jumped in. "Sora crashed right on top of this couple's picnic! His-his face landed right in their potato salad!" He looked like he was about to lose it too.

"It wasn't _that_ funny!" Sora tried to convince them.

"Dude, you looked like you were wearing one of those girl beauty face masks!" Demyx howled with laughter.

Sora crossed his arms, his face even more red than before, if that was even possible. He was just about to say something when the speaker overhead came to life.

There was a few seconds of static before a woman's voice came through. "All contestants! If you would please make your way to the course. We'll be starting in five minutes. Seifer Almasy, you're first up!" A little more static sounded as she paused. "Thank you!" And then she quickly clicked off.

All at once, the boys in the lounge stood from their chairs. It was like an army salute, so uniform and quick. They made their way to the door and began filing out. All their friends followed them out as well.

It took Aqua's eyes a moment to adjust to the new bright light. It had been pretty dim inside the trailer. The course had been placed inside the park. Half-pipes, ramps, rails, and other things had been set up, weaving through all the trees and light poles. A set of bleachers had been set along the right side of it all. The whole scene looked a little odd in Aqua's opinion, but she figured they just couldn't find a better place on the island to set it up.

The contestants walked up some stairs to the top of the starting ramp. All his friends said good luck before Sora walked off. They headed to the bleachers and were lucky enough to get front row seats.

The skaters all took a seat near the back of the ramp while Seifer grabbed his board from the collection on the side. He set it down on the edge and prepared to take off when the bell sounded. He looked pretty confident, but Aqua silently hoped he didn't do that great. She didn't like him, and plus, she wanted Sora to win.

Suddenly the bell went off and Seifer flew down the ramp without a moment's hesitation. He immediately headed for the closest ramp. It was short, only about two feet high, but he managed to get some major air. He grabbed his board from under him and raised it up as he gracefully stretched out his body. Right before hitting the ground, he scrunched up and quickly slid the board back in place under his feet. It was a perfect landing, but he didn't dwell on it and pushed himself to the next trick.

He came to some stairs with a railing. He seemed to effortlessly jump up, spin his board, and land on the railing. When the rail ended, he spun his board again. Next he took to the quarter pipe. When he reached the top he twisted 180 degrees, and then he grinded the edge. He rolled down and skillfully grinded a bench before heading to another quarter pipe. But this time right before he reached the top, he leaned down, grabbed the skateboard with his right hand and with his left, he grabbed the edge of the pipe to the side of his board. He swirled through the air almost like he was doing a cartwheel, and he stopped at the peak of his arc, so he was in a handstand position. He slowly bent his back into a curve so that his feet were hanging over the edge of the pipe. Then he let go of the pipe and quickly flipped himself upright. He landed and continued on his way like he had just done the easiest trick in the world.

He did a few more spins, grabs, and grinds before ending his round by coming up the ramp he started at. A few of the other skaters got up to congratulate him, giving him fist bumps or pats on the back. Aqua sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, his performance really was great. And he didn't even wipe out once. Seifer was the first skater, and if the rest were as good as him, this was going to be one hell of a competition.

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Finally, the announcer's voice filled the air calling, "Sora Takahashi." Aqua and all his friends looked up to see Sora taking position at the top of the ramp. He looked kind of nervous – a little shaky – but he had on the most confident face. _He's got this._ Aqua thought. Suddenly the bell sounded loudly, making Aqua jump a little in her seat. Sora hesitated only a second – registering the bell – before he took off.

He went right for the rail – the long one on the far left side – and easily jumped right on. But instead of sliding along face first like most of the skaters before him, he had jumped and landed so that he was facing backwards, looking over his shoulder to see where he was going. Quickly he went on his hands. _ What is he doing?_ Aqua thought. Then she saw – Sora was doing a handstand. He stayed that way until he was almost out of rail, then he swiftly moved back on his feet just as the board dropped from the end of the rail. The audience went crazy, clapping and cheering. Aqua laughed as she clapped herself, noticing most of the noise was coming from her group of friends to her right.

"Yeah! THAT'S THE WAY TO KICK SOME ASS!" Riku shouted. Aqua couldn't help but shake her head and laugh. Sora must have heard him though, because he looked over and gave them a huge grin.

He then went to the half-pipe and proceeded to do some average tricks like grabs, spins, and just plain jumps. When he had decided he had had enough, he boarded to one end and stepped off his board at the very top, like one would do to normally stop at a half-pipe. But Sora didn't stop there. He bent down, jogging, and picked up his board. When he reached the end where the rail stood to keep skaters from tumbling down to certain injury – which Aqua found ironic because skaters are prone to hurt themselves anyway – he stepped up onto it with one foot and pushed himself forward. Aqua gripped the edge of her seat and she heard Yuffie beside her mutter, "What the hell?" Falling down, Sora did about two flips and then positioned the board under his feet while flipping one more time. He landed perfectly. _Perfectly_. Aqua didn't even see him wobble to regain balance. He definitely won a lot of applause for that one.

"God the things he has up his sleeves," Kairi stated exasperatedly. "I swear he's going to kill me of shock and fear one day."

The crowd cheered frantically again, and Aqua turned just in time to see Sora finishing a bench grind, followed by a jump over a ramp. Then he leaped over the gap from a set of stairs, spinning his board in the process.

The bell sounded twice – a warning that Sora had thirty seconds left. And he still needed to get back to the starting ramp or else his score wouldn't count.

He couldn't resist the urge, however, to grab a few more rails before he headed back. Typical Sora. He made it just as the final bell rung. The audience burst into applause and every skater jumped up to congratulate him. Bet they hadn't even _thought_ about doing some of the tricks Sora pulled.

The audience finally settled down, with the help (more like pleas) from the over-enthusiastic announcer. Sora must have been the last competitor because she shouted through the speakers, "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming out today to watch the National Skating Competition! Congratulations to all the skaters, you were all amazing out there! Please join us back here in two hours for the results and to name our winners!"

Sora was being pushed along by the group of skaters, but he finally managed to weave his way out. He ran up to his friends, his famous Sora smile plastered on his face. "Hey guys!"

"Sora!" They all cheered at once. Kairi ran up and hugged him.

"You were AMAZING out there!" She exclaimed. Then her face went serious. "But next time don't do such a crazy trick! Or at least tell me about it first. I almost had a heart attack!" She giggled at the end, making sure Sora knew she wasn't angry at him, but just being the girlfriend.

"Okay," Sora said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, man, that move was _sick_!" Tidus whaled. "Where'd you get the idea to do that?"

"I-I don't know…" Sora struggled. He usually got a lot of attention because of his bright personality, but this attention seemed celebrity-worthy. "Really, it wasn't that cool guys." He replied sheepishly.

Everyone argued against this though. Zack commented, "It was mind-blowing! I wouldn't be surprised if the judges gave you a fifty!"

"Zack," Sora responded, shaking his head while chuckling, "the highest you can get is a twenty."

"Yeahhh I know, but still." Everyone laughed in agreement.

"Come on, guys," Selphie spoke up. "Let's go back to the lounge and chat, I'm sure Sora's tired." And with that they headed back. All the other competitors were already there, talking with their own friends.

After complimenting Sora's skater friends on their great performances, everyone spent the next hour and a half conversing and playing games. Tidus, Riku, Zack, and Tifa were competitively racing in some video game Aqua didn't know the name of. Several were watching them and cheering them on. Yuffie, Olette, and Hayner were throwing popcorn in each other's faces, trying to catch them in their mouth. Yuffie was winning of course. Aqua sometimes swore she was a ninja, the things she could do. Everyone else simply mingled from here to there until the lady came over the speaker once again. She was starting to creep Aqua out a little. She was just a little too happy all the time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please begin to make your way over to the course," she stopped a moment to giggle. "It's time to announce the scores!" Then she clicked off.

The day had gotten even hotter – if that was possible. Everyone quickly took their seats, eager to finish the announcements so they could go back inside to the air conditioning. The skaters all took their place on the ramp. When their name was called, they had to stand and walk to the edge so the audience could see them. Shortly after they started, it was Sora's turn. He took to the edge of the ramp and it looked like he almost fainted when the announcer shouted out a nineteen. He almost got a perfect score! Sora awkwardly turned around, still in shock Aqua was guessing, as the announcer called for Seifer. Sora had barely taken one step before Seifer was standing before him.

"Hey, great job," Seifer held out his hand.

Sora took it without hesitation. "Thanks! And good luck!" Sora smiled, but almost just as quickly as it had come, it vanished. The audience couldn't see because Sora was facing away from them, but Sora's face twisted in confusion. His eyes clouded over and then he seemed worried, scared even. He jerked his hand out of Seifer's and started shuffling backwards, holding his head. Aqua could hear him screaming. _What is going on?_ Aqua wondered. Sora looked in pain, and Seifer had a devious smirk on his face. Something wasn't right.

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Time seemed to slow, to Aqua it might have just as well stopped. She saw it before anyone else could. Hell, the others probably didn't even see it. Sora's right foot was just at the edge of the ramp and he seemed like he was still moving backwards. He was going to fall. And that ramp was pretty tall, especially compared to the others. Seifer seemed to have no intention of making a grab for him, to save him.

Aqua shot out of her chair. As if on instinct, she ran through the park, jumping over ramps and rails, racing over boards. Sora had begun to sway on the edge, trying to regain his balance, but it was pointless. As if someone had given him a slight push, he began to fall. Aqua wasn't going to make it, but she couldn't give up. That was her friend and that fall would at least break something. She willed herself to move faster, to make it there in time, for him.

And she did. She didn't know how, it should have been impossible, but she caught him just as he was about to smack into the ground. The force pushed her down and they both rolled, tumbling over each other.

Aqua sat up, holding her head. She wasn't hurt, but she was dizzy from the impact. Sora lay a yard or two away in a fetal position, grasping his head. Seifer peered down at them from the ramp, a disapproving expression plastered on his face. Everyone else seemed to be oblivious, almost inanimate. It was completely silent.

Then suddenly a blazing light filled the air. Aqua was able to see the source of the light streak across the sky. It lashed over Seifer and then back out of view. Then a flash covered the entire area and it was so intense that Aqua had no choice but to cover her eyes. When she was able to open her eyes again, the sounds of live had returned – the gasps of the audience, the birds in the trees, the party going on at the beach nearby. Seifer was lying across the edge of the ramp, his left arm dangling over the side. He seemed to be unconscious. Sora came out of his scrunched position, letting go of his head, and sat up slowly. He looked around, seeming confused like he had no idea what had just happened.

By this time, all of Aqua and Sora's friends were by their side. Comments of "Oh my god, are you okay", "what happened", and "I'm so confused" floated in the air. Aqua could barely process any of them. Her mind was elsewhere. _What_ did_ just happen? What was that light? Why is Seifer hurt? Why had Sora been acting strange? How had she gotten there in time to catch him?_

She let her friends help her up and they led her back to the bleachers. Someone got her a bottle of water, but she didn't see who. She mumbled thanks to all of them. Well, at least she thought she did, she didn't really know. The announcer cut through her hazy mind and brought her back to reality.

"Sorry for that folks! I don't really know what happened. One minute we'll all fine and dandy, and the next we have three people on the ground! Talk about weird…" She babbled on for a little while claiming it was the works of the supernatural. Aqua tuned the announcer out for that part, she didn't believe in those kinds of things. But as soon as the lady started talking about Seifer, Aqua listened again. "Next scores are for Seifer Almasy, but he's one the three that were involved in whatever that was. He's knocked out cold, so he's being taken to the lounge to recover. Hope he wakes up soon and is feeling okay." Aqua's friends started conversing, each one telling their own theories as to what happened. Of course, they were all wrong. Aqua seemed to be the only one that knew what really happened – to some extent. She still didn't know what that light was. The announcer continued after the crowd settled down again. "The judges have asked that his scores be read, however. Well, Seifer, you pulled off an eighteen. Way to go!"

The crowd gave a big round of applause, but Aqua was pretty sure that the applause from her friends was not because eighteen was a great score, but because that was one point below Sora's score. Sora had beaten Seifer! Aqua quickly and eagerly scanned the skaters and assessed their performances in her head. The only other person that might have a chance of beating Sora was Leon, the famous skater from Radiant Garden.

The announcing of the scores continued. Sora's group of skater friends turned out to be pretty good. Zexion and Rui both scored sixteens, Demyx pulled off a fourteen, and Yoz and Lazoo grabbed thirteens. Next up and last to be announced was Leon. As he walked up to receive his score, he didn't look nervous at all. Aqua guessed he was pretty confident in his performance. And he had the right to be too because he scored an eighteen.

The crowd went wild as the top three skaters took the winners podium. Sora as first, Leon as second, and some girl named Fang as third. Seifer, who had tied with Leon, would be awarded second place as well.

Aqua and her friends screamed their heads off and clapped until their hands hurt. Sora had won!

Eventually the applause died down and the crowd began to disperse as the sun set. Sora's friends crowded around him, congratulating him on his victory. The group decided to go get some ice cream to celebrate. At the ice cream parlor, everyone was talking and laughing, just having a great time. Aqua joined in, and although she was having fun too, she couldn't stop thinking about the strange incident at the park. Could it have been Seifer that had been hurting her friend?

* * *

**A/N: **Hoped you liked it! I don't know too much about skateboarding, but I hope I described the competition well enough. Haha.

Well, see you next time!


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